KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) and the well-known Japanese chemical company DAICEL, have announced a five-year joint project to integrate an innovative microfluidic system developed by scholar Kitamori Takehiko into the chemical manufacturing industry.
Total investment in the project is 450 million Japanese yen (approximately NT$110 million), and its potential to reduce energy consumption while lowering the production of carbon and waste is expected to set a new standard for sustainability in the chemical industry. (NT$100 = RM14.92)
Prof Kitamori, a world-renowned pioneer in microfluidic and nanofluidic technology and the former vice president of the University of Tokyo, has been serving as the Yushan Honorary Chair Professor of the Institute of Nanoengineering and Microsystems, Department of Power Mechanical Engineering at NTHU since 2020.
Kitamori explained it could be quite difficult to instantaneously mix several large barrels of chemicals with different temperatures and reaction speeds, and there might even be an explosion if the materials were not handled carefully.
Thus, the preferred way of blending chemicals is by passing it through a microchannel, which makes it possible to precisely control the amount of raw materials used, as well as the mixing sequence and conditions, thereby optimising the quality of the final product.
Kitamori said the aim of the project was to reduce the size of chemical production equipment, so that what was currently produced by a factory measuring 20 x 20 metres can be miniaturised into a system only two square metres in size.
What’s more, such a system would use less energy and materials, making it less expensive, and would also produce less carbon, according to a statement.
Years ago, when DAICEL president Ogawa Yoshimi heard about the microfluidic technology developed by Kitamori, he was deeply impressed, and is now highly pleased that DAICEL is going to integrate this innovative technology into its operations.
He is also looking forward to cooperating with NTHU in introducing this epoch-making manufacturing process to the world, which he also sees as a way of promoting sustainability and the circular economy.
-- BERNAMA
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